Pets, Plants, Pain and Construction

Coco has figured out that people laps are warm and comfy. We also - finally! - found a treat she likes. Hooray for Greenies Dental Treats! 

Ginger had 3 teeth pulled and has recovered well. She still won’t allow Coco in ‘her’ bedroom - or leave that bedroom at all - so Pop and I spend a couple of hours each day up there with her. Hoping she’ll get over it??

Kicked a shoe, broke a (different) toe. Owwwwwwwwwww!

Yard construction continues… 

Today was for leveling (by hand, on their knees…😳) and compacting the soil, 

connecting the remaining downspouts 

and finishing most of the piping. 

Pavers should be here tomorrow!

$4 aloe I found at a thrift shop.😊

Went to water one plant and ended up repotting a bunch*. 

This bromeliad was so waterlogged it was actually floating. I didn’t realize the store pot had no drainage holes. Hope I didn’t leave it too long. 

Christmas cacti were all root, no dirt (rootbound) so put them in bigger pots. 

Prayer plant didn’t like its self-watering pot so it got a redo too.

Put this Swiss Cheese Monstera leaf in water back in March, new roots are finally big enough to pot. 

If it survives, I’ll probably put it back with the mother plant to make the pot look fuller.

I loved the flowers on this African violet but the mom plant was a hot mess. Planted these 3 cut-offs and tossed the rest in the trash. Life’s too short for problem plants (and most other problems too.)

* I need a plant diary or I’ll never remember what I did when.

Progressing

Day 2 of the yard remodel - 

in the back section, the hole is filled 

and the piping for rain runoff is going in 

along with connectors for the downspouts (or whatever they’re called…)

 Wide slab on the right, before the trim

The narrow connector 

had part of the old cement pad trimmed and trenches are underway for the runoff pipes. 

Front section still has bricks 

and debris to get rid of, 

but that should be taken care of on Monday because…

Tiny tail-less lizard runs into our path each time we go out the back door. 

Pavers are being delivered on Tuesday! 

They’ll be a combo of Toscana and Bella, 

with 6x9” Mocha blocks around the edges. 

The boss estimates they’ll be done a week from Wednesday but at the rate they’re moving, it might be sooner!

Garden of Stars

I’m still not thrilled with the black and copper print for Garden of Stars so, since we were coming home by way of Simi today, we made a quick-ish stop at Quilty Pleasures. 

The hexi dots on the left is not usually my thing but I love this. And may have bought all that was left on the bolt…

Anyone surprised I bought more than just the black fabric* I needed? Hubby even got involved, bringing bolts to the counter ‘just in case’ I might need like them. 

I’ll make a test block to be sure, but I think I’m going to like this Steampunk Halloween fabric much better. 

This is Teena’s fault. She told me about an online sale at Jordan fabrics and how could I resist? Everything except the collection of blue fat quarters ⬆️ was part of a one-pound mystery bag of batik ‘leftovers’. I love a sale and a mystery, plus was curious if the cuts would be scraps or actually useful. 

Most are useful sizes and only a couple are colors I really don’t like. Lots of possibilities - maybe use the top bunch in a bright scrappy quilt or the green fat quarters (bottom left) in a HST project. Would I buy the mystery bag again? Maybe if it was on sale…

*Simi shop yardage. 

Breaking Ground

We’ve been planning a new project since before we took Jac home (July 20-ish). The contractor had given us a start date 2 weeks from now, but they finished a job early and would we like to start sooner… like in 2 days? Yes please!

Before

The back yard has gone through a lot of changes over the years, the most recent when Pop put in an above ground pool for the grands. Turns out there were a LOT of roots hiding under the dirt - he had to dig down over 18” to get past them.

Now that the grands have moved away, the pool is gone and it’s time to replace it with something attractive but low maintenance. 

Demolition started this morning and tomorrow we’re shopping for cement pavers that will go from house to fence. The contractor is also connecting all the downspouts to underground piping so rain coming off the roof will go directly out to the street. Hooray!

My favorite part so far is the cleaned out connector between the 2 yard sections. The hibiscus on the left ⬆️ is probably 40 years old - it was here when we moved in. I feel a little sad to see it go, but it’s filled with icky morning glory vines and not growing or flowering much anymore. Time for a change. 

Timeline for completion is 3 weeks and counting … 

Garden of Stars BOM

I’m a big fan of Carol Doak’s FPP Star designs. One of the first FPP projects I undertook when I was a newbie quilter was a block-a-month from one of her books. I learned so much!

So when I found her group on Faceb**k, and learned she leads a free annual BOM of new designs just for group members, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

Making fabric decisions is the hardest part for me. Too much second-guessing…

This year’s project started July 1 but I was trying to finish the birds - and Jac was here - so I’m just now getting going. 

 First quarter of Alternating block done.

July’s homework was to make 12 ‘alternating’ blocks that will go between the monthly stars. I made one today, with fabrics entirely from my stash, to test colors and design choices. I love this block so much, I’d be happy to have an entire quilt made just with it. 

 Really not sure about that black - the copper flecks aren’t working for me. Use it because it’s in the stash and hubby likes it? Or break my ‘rules’ and go shopping?

Now I need to check if that deep violet batik is going to bleed… should have checked it before I started but who thinks of that when Start-itis is upon you??

Cat-a-Palooza

It’s been a crazy week for cat stories. 

Early in the week, Mary stopped traffic to rescue a kitten from the middle of a road (kitty’s sibling wasn’t so lucky 😔.) They named her Princess Muffin Top… until the vet visit a few days later when they discovered he will need a new name. 

Such a cute little boy! Update! His name is Saber.

Next day, my niece in Oregon found and rescued a couple of two-ish week old kittens while on her morning walk. She’s already found them a home. 😍

Our cats missed me us while we were taking Jac home. Coco hasn’t been much of a lap cat since we got her in May but she’s practically living in my lap since we got home. 

My favorite refrain - “I’d get up but it wouldn’t be right to disturb the cat…” 

Ginger will flop on Pop or me, whomever is closer. Both girls love him.

We’re still trying to get the cats used to each other. There were lots of hisses and growls the first day I left the bedroom door open for them to get acquainted.

 Hissing from the high ground

It stopped fairly quickly and they sat watching each other with only occasional outbursts from Ginger.

I think Coco would really like to be friends. She sits at the top of the stairs or on the landing waiting for Ginger to come out.

And Ginger? Yesterday she had an hissy fit and ran under the bed as soon as Coco appeared. 

Today she hissed twice, then stretched out beside me while keeping an eye on the intruder. Hey, it’s progress!